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Pike Committee Report, Part 2B: Intelligence Performance (1976)

545 views · Published 25 October 2017 · 1:19:49 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: Our Hidden History · 2017 · News & Politics

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FULL REPORT: https://archive.org/details/PikeCommitteeReportFull AND HEARINGS: https://archive.org/details/PikeCommitteeIntelligenceHearings

'Our Hidden History' will be adding the rest of the report, as an audio book, to this playlist as we release them: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBINnEpNu5u70gL3ebLHrlpe5d9kffLmq

This introduction, written by CIA whistleblower Philip Agee in 1976, gives an excellent summary of the history and contents of the report. It was first available as the introduction to the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation version of the report, published in the UK in 1976.

From Wikipedia: The Pike Committee is the common name for the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence during the period when it was chaired by Democratic Representative Otis G. Pike of New York. The Select Committee had originally been established in February 1975 under the chairmanship of Congressman Lucien Nedzi of Michigan. Following Nedzi's resignation in June, the committee was reconstituted with Pike as chair, in July 1975, with its mandate expiring January 31, 1976. Under Pike's chairmanship, the committee investigated illegal activities by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA).

The Pike Committee’s demands for information and Gerald Ford's Administration’s reluctance to release it almost ignited a constitutional crisis in 1975. Newly declassified documents from the National Security Archive demonstrate the highly contentious nature of this conflict, showing the CIA’s refusal to comply with the Pike Committee’s requests for information. Ultimately, when the Pike Committee was preparing to sue for the documents’ release, the CIA determined the likelihood of winning the lawsuit was remote, and Ford was able to orchestrate a compromise. The Agency would release the requested documents “on loan” to the Committee, and if there were disagreements about a specific document, the President would have the final say. The Pike Committee was then able to proceed with their investigation, and generated a report.

The final report of the Pike Committee was never officially published, due to Congressional opposition. However, unauthorized versions of the (draft) final report were leaked to the press. CBS News reporter Daniel Schorr was called to testify before Congress, but refused to divulge his source. Major portions of the report were published by The Village Voice, and a full copy of the draft was published in England.

The Pike Committee established important protocols for the declassification of intelligence documents, which would continue to evolve. It also created a precedent for the oversight of the Executive Branch and its agencies, leading to the creation of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which now has the autonomy to declassify any of the information it receives. The Pike Committee constituted an extremely significant step in the tradition of government transparency.

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